← A Year on Paper · Lesson 2 of 3
A cushion for surprises
Surprises are certain even if their timing is not: a broken phone, a car repair, a gap between jobs. A small savings cushion, set aside before other spending, turns a surprise into an inconvenience.
A common rule of thumb is to work towards a few months of essential costs over time. Start much smaller: even a few hundred dollars covers many surprises.
When is the best time to move money into a cushion?
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